Happy Endings
by yumi michiyo
Summary: Sometimes the fairytale ending isn't the right one and you have to make your own happy ending. A Inuyasha/Sango serial told in snippets using LJ community prompts.
1. Musing

**Author's Note:** Written for the Angst, Anguish and Torment table at the LJ comm **inuyasha_sango**. The prompt used is 'not meant to be'.

* * *

She had never felt anything quite like it.

On one hand, she felt a kinship with the hardened warrior who appreciated the value of self-discipline as much as she did – as much as her old comrades did. She and Inuyasha naturally gravitated to one another; even though they traveled in their separate pairs, they banded together when in action, moving fluidly in perfect synchronization with each other's movements.

And yet Sango knew what she was feeling was wrong; so horribly wrong.

She knew it was not meant to be; Inuyasha was meant for her dear friend Kagome. Miroku – despite his womanizing ways, had feelings for her.

But still...

No matter how many times she tried to rein in her traitorous emotions, the slightest touch, a gruff word, a badly-disguised look of concern would send them racing again.

Kagome and Miroku deserved more than this. They deserved – _and would get,_ she promised herself – the happy ending fate had in store for them after Naraku was defeated.

Even then, as she watched Inuyasha out of the corner of her eye, his golden eyes fixed on Kagome; as Miroku entertained Shippou, smiling softly at her now and then: at what cost would this _happy ending_ come for her heart?


	2. Mirrored

**Author's Note: **Part 2 of the serial. The prompt used was 'hurt'.

* * *

He was no stranger to these feelings, but he would never have thought them real.

But real they were.

Inuyasha had already sent Kikyou to hell and back; it was taking all of his efforts from preventing Kagome – his second chance – from following. He had no right to fall in love again.

He snorted derisively; there was no way he would call those silly flutterings in his gut whenever he looked at Sango _love. _He respected her as a warrior; hell, maybe he was more than a little fond of her, seeing how she took so much suffering in her stride and still was able to kick ass.

Why could he not stop at hurting just two women at a time?

The hanyou was perched in his favourite spot: a branch overlooking the camp. His eyes were trained on Kagome, vigilantly watching her every move, making sure she came to no harm while he was around.

All the better to distract him from the slayer's unconscious charms as she contemplated the monk – from the angle he was slumped, it was hard to be sure – and make sure he did not make the wrong decisions all over again.

Inuyasha pushed his hands deeper into his sleeves, swallowing the traitorous emotions. He and Sango were simply not destined for one another; he had Kagome and she had Miroku.

It was obvious, he reflected bitterly, where her affections lay in any case.


	3. Tense

**Author's Note:** Part 3 of the serial. The prompt was 'longing'.

* * *

"Sango."

She stiffened and relaxed; all within the space of a heartbeat. With the movement came a sharp mental rebuke for letting herself be lulled into half-slumber. "What?"

All she could see of Inuyasha was the dim outline of limbs reclining against the trunk and the occasional animal-like glint of his eyes when the firelight caught it. It was both reassuring and disturbing; knowing he was always there, always watching.

The hanyou was precisely that: not completely human nor youkai, but somewhere dangerously in between.

"Go get some rest."

The slayer blinked, her brain struggling to make sense of the words. "What? But you – "

He grunted. "I'll take the watch. Now sleep."

"No." Stubbornly, she tightened her fingers around Hiraikotsu's strap. "When was the last time _you _slept?"

"I'm not tired, wench," Inuyasha hissed. "You, on the other hand, are a weak human woman who most probably is."

She bit back an angry retort. The last thing she wanted was to waste precious energy squabbling with him. "If you say so," she growled.

* * *

The next morning dawned pale and grey. The little family set off at its usual pace, punctuated with the occasional argument and the not-so-occasional quarrel between Inuyasha and either Kagome or Shippou.

Sango was in a foul mood; the minor disagreement with Inuyasha the night before, coupled with a few attempts by Miroku to feel her up all morning had not improved it.

Even though the day was uneventful, there were no positive news; no sign of Naraku, any of the jewel shards... or Kohaku.

Sango was exhausted and had been longing for a hot bath and rest – though she did not say it. She was too emotionally drained as it was. The slayer shut off her mind, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other...

Inuyasha stopped abruptly in the middle of the road and walked into the grass.

"Inuyasha?" asked Miroku.

"We're stopping here for the night," he threw over his shoulder. "I'm going to hunt."

Sango looked up. "I'll go with you."

Gold eyes bored into hers. "You stay here." In a streak of red, he was gone, bounding through the trees.

Kagome came up from behind. "It's not like Inuyasha to be this rude to you, Sango-chan... did anything happen recently?"

"N – no..." She fought to conceal the blush that threatened to colour her cheeks. Had he noticed her staring at him? Or worse: had he figured out what lay behind that stare?


	4. Bleed

**Author's Note:** Written for the Angst, Anguish and Torment table at the LJ comm **inuyasha_sango**. The prompt used is 'not meant to be'.

* * *

Inuyasha waited until he was safely out of sight, deep in the woods, before dropping the ferocious snarl from his face.

He had not meant to be that rude – not to _her _– but it had slipped out, the same way last night had turned into a cold war. The worst thing was Sango was right: he _was_ tired, but he was also too proud to admit it.

Deciding to put it all out of his mind until later, he turned his attention back to dinner. If Kagome had her way, she would be making them eat vegetables and fish day in and day out; he was fine with it if there was nothing else. But meat was for warriors; it put muscle on bone and real force behind strikes.

A nasty scent caught his nose. Inuyasha grunted; some oni were hunting for dinner as well. He moved upwind. The hanyou had no desire to fight them, unless they were after the same prey.

A muffled curse, a flurry of breaking branches and crackling of foliage captured his attention again. Inuyasha was already in motion by the time the scent of Sango, mixed with blood reached his nose.

_Damn that wench!_

She was alone, surrounded by the oni from earlier. A gash on her arm oozed blood fitfully; the other carried Hiraikotsu. Out of the band, three already lay dead on the forest floor.

"Sango!" In a flash of light, Tetsusaiga was drawn and he was standing with his back to hers.

"Inuyasha."

"What the hell are you doing out here, stupid wench?" One blast of his sword killed half the oni and sent the other half running.

Sango set down Hiraikotsu hard, driving one end into the ground. "Looking for you."

"What for?" He stared with growing alarm at the sluggishly bleeding gash. "You're wounded." Before she could stop him, he had torn a strip of white cloth from his underkimono and wound it roughly around her arm.

Sango tugged it out of his hands, a pink tint decorating her cheeks. "I can do that myself, thanks." Using her teeth and her free hand, the slayer tied it into a neat knot.

Inuyasha grunted and heaved Hiraikotsu over his shoulder. "Let's go back."

"What about dinner?"

"I'm pretty sure Kagome has more of her vegetable stews waiting."

Sango smiled – though it was not as wide as it usually was. "Delicious as Kagome-chan's cooking is... I wouldn't mind a bit of rabbit now and then."

One ear twitched. He should have known; she would understand him perfectly. As they walked back in companionable silence, one unanswered question surfaced in Inuyasha's mind.

"Hey Sango. You said you were looking for me?"

She blushed again. "Yes. I was going to ask you why you were so rude earlier." One hand came up to tuck a curl of hair behind her ear. "But it's fine now."

He shook his head. "Women."

But Inuyasha was smiling as he walked back; Sango was still blushing.


	5. Play

**Author's Note:** Written for the Angst, Anguish and Torment table at the LJ comm **inuyasha_sango**. The prompt used is 'weak'.

* * *

The pair got back to camp (and each consumed a bowl of Kagome's vegetable stew a little reluctantly), Sango brushing off Kagome and Miroku's concerns about her wound carelessly. The miko, however, was not to be deterred.

"Let me clean that properly for you, Sango-chan," said Kagome, pulling out her first-aid box. "It could be infected."

Sango bit her lip; her rational mind was in full agreement but... it was _Inuyasha's _underkimono tied around her arm. The white fabric was worn smooth from constant wear – from his body – and she was strangely loath to throw it away; it was a sign of weakness to develop attachments to things.

Before the slayer could protest, Kagome had untied the bloodied bandage and rolled up the skin-tight material of her slayer suit. Sango winced a little as her cut was swabbed with disinfectant. While she appreciated the wonders of the goods from her friend's time, the strong smell and sting of the liquid never failed to elicit a reaction from her.

Beside her, Inuyasha wrinkled his nose as well. "That shit stinks, Kagome."

"We just have to put up with it," she answered, squirting more into the cotton. "Stuff that's good for you usually isn't very pleasant."

Patiently, Sango waited until the young girl was satisfied with the dressing – and she had to admit, it was a professional job as good as the healers of her village – before disappearing into the woods to change back into her more comfortable yukata.

Inuyasha was seated by the fire when she emerged, Tetsusaiga curled under one arm – Miroku, Kagome, Kirara and Shippou were nowhere in sight. "They went to get some more supplies from that village we passed," he explained, catching the quizzical look in her eye.

"You didn't go?" Sango was honestly surprised; whenever the group had to split up, she fully expected Miroku to be left with her.

"Keh. They don't take kindly to youkai – and you got your fool self injured. So we're staying."

She joined him, a small smile on her lips – the fact her body was closer to his than she had ever been with Miroku was not lost on the hanyou.

"How's your arm?"

She glanced at the sterile white dressings half-hidden under her sleeve. "It doesn't hurt much now. I think it'll be completely healed in a few weeks."

He snorted, one ear flicking back. "Good. Humans are so weak."

Sango bristled at that. "Hanyou are so arrogant," she riposted.

The dog demon blinked in surprise. "You may be hurt, wench, but that doesn't mean I'll go easy on you..."

"Bring it on," she challenged, a playful light in her eyes.

He bared his teeth; a deliberately careless swipe at her head was dodged and a fist came driving at his ear. Inuyasha used his free hand to distract her, feinting at her ribs, while the other tugged on her ponytail. Sango twisted her waist to try and avoid the blow and found herself overbalancing into the hanyou's lap.

"I win," he breathed in her ear.

"You cheated; you used two hands," she shot back, ignoring the effect of his proximity on her senses, her face reddening.

In answer, Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, blushing as well. "What're you going to do, eh?"

Sango blinked – as though realizing their position for the first time – and quickly scrambled off his lap, mumbling an answer under her breath. He looked elsewhere, hiding the fact his face was as red as his clothes.

"Feh, Sango, you're hopeless when you're injured," Inuyasha commented gruffly. "I'll take you properly on when you get better, and hopefully you'll put up a decent fight."

A smile spread across the slayer's face – trust him to fall back on familiar ground when flustered. "I won't hold back, you know."

"Huh."


	6. Change

**Author's Note:** Written for the Angst, Anguish and Torment table at the LJ comm **inuyasha_sango**. The prompt used is 'vulnerable'.

* * *

The next time Sango and Inuyasha found themselves alone together was the night of the new moon.

She watched, fascinated, as he underwent the metamorphosis; claws receded into blunt nails, eyes and hair darkened, his dog ears vanished and human ones appeared in their normal place.

Grey eyes glanced sideways at her. "Satisfied now?" he grunted.

"I'll never grow tired of seeing that," she said, and blushed.

"Keh." Inuyasha tucked the now-useless Tetsusaiga closer to his body. "... Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I'm not tired," she lied, tucking her legs beneath her.

He smirked. "Liar. I can still tell – you're damned easy to read," he added, seeing her growing look of panic.

"I – oh, fine." Sango looked away, presumably scanning their surroundings for threats but really waiting for the colour to recede from her cheeks.

"I just thought... you'd like some company while waiting for Kagome-chan and Houshi-sama to return."

Inuyasha scowled. "I'm not some baby who needs to be watched over all the fucking time."

The slayer was completely unfazed. "I know you aren't. It's just that... we're all vulnerable, whether we realise it or not." Sango tilted her head, a small smile in place. "Sometimes, Inuyasha, we need to be reminded we aren't alone."

"What the hell are you talking about?" he snarled. "I ain't vulnerable!"

Kagome and Miroku chose that moment to reappear, logs piled high in their arms; both were red in the face and panting.

"The sun set as we were coming back – Inuyasha, we're sorry we didn't get back in time!" exclaimed Kagome breathlessly, dumping her burden on the grass.

"Not like there's anything to see," he grumbled. "You're all idiots."

He stole a quick sideways glance at Sango as he spoke, but she was talking to Miroku and missed it.


End file.
